Chatham entrepreneur wins Verizon grant

PITTSBORO - Kaisha Nicole Byrne, of Chatham County, has been awarded first place honors and a $2,500 grant in the Open Doors Entrepreneurship Initiative business plan competition.

The competition, open to women in North Carolina's central counties, was sponsored by Verizon Wireless and implemented by Central Carolina Community College's Small Business Center in Chatham County.

Bryne graduated in the spring as part of the inaugural class of a new CCCC program, Natural Hair Care Specialist. She was recruited to participate in the competition through her involvement with FVRC, a Siler City non-profit.

Bryne's winning business plan, "Growing Hands Natural Hair Care Center," describes her natural hair care business and how she wants it to grow. "Growing Hands" is an old-timey term used to describe a person whose hands have a magic touch for growing hair. Bryne heard it a lot as a child growing up in Maryland and South Carolina.

Bryne's study of natural hair care fits perfectly into her natural lifestyle on her Chatham County farmstead. Her garden knowledge of herbs, oils, creams and botanicals has helped her create personal hair cocktails and plan her own business, "Growing Hands."

"I embrace a new way of caring for hair - without chemicals," she says . " Many of my styles are created with a minimum of heat, with steam treatments that help penetrate the hair cuticles, with wool, with natural yarn designs and alternative ways of adding color. I do a consultation, which is included in services rendered. This is very important to help me understand my clients' hair goals."

With the grant award funds, Bryne plans to establish a private work area that is an oasis of aromatheraphy, facials and proper storage of herbs she grows on her farm.

"I picture us doing great things for the community," Bryne says.

For more information about the CCCC Small Business Center, with offices in Chatham, Harnett, and Lee counties, visit chathamsbc.com, harnettsbc.com, or leesbc.com; or call 919-545-8013 in Chatham, 910-892-2884 in Harnett, or 919-718-7424 in Lee.